Sheet metal stretching vise



Aug. 12, 1952 w. J. DESJARLAIS ET AL 2,606,467

v v SHEET METAL STRETCHING VISE Filed April 19, 1948 m Wm 1 WWW a 01.. m {M M 7% 57/4 mm.

Patented Aug. 12, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l SHEET METAL STRETCHING VISE William J. Desjarlais, Sergeant Blufi, and Herman E. La Fleur, Sioux City, Iowa, assignors of five per cent to J. Allen Orr, Sioux City, Iowa Application April19, 1948, Serial No. 21,797

8 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in sheet metal stretching vises and is particularly adapted to be used in the straightening of badly damaged dOOls and particularly those of automobile doors which have become bent or damaged due to collision or other accident.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device that will relieve the pressure from the door exerted by the bent portions therein in order to facilitate the return of such doors to their original shapes when straightened by application of a mallet or hammer.

Another object of the invention is to grip and stretch the door as much as is possible while the straightening operation is taking place.

And another object of the invention is to provide a tool which will absorb the pressure normally incurred when a highly resistant object is being straightened.

A further object of the invention is to provide means that are adjustable to accommodate various sizes of doors or other material to be straightened.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,- wherein like characters. of reference denote like partsthroughout:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention as applied to a bent door;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the improved tool, with certain parts being shown in section;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical view taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 2, as seen in a direction opposite that of Figure 3.

The difiiculty occurring in straightening badly bent doors of highly resistant material appears to be due to the fact that the pressure exerted by the bend in the door resists the efiorts of a hammer or other tool used to straighten out such hump. In order to overcome this objection, it would appear to be desirable that pressure exerted by the door be relieved so that there will be considerably less resistance to the hammering effect during the straightening process. In order to achieve these ends, the instant invention has been devised.

Referring to Figure l, the tool of the invention is indicated generally by numeral and is shown engaging the end of a door or other damaged object 12. l

As is best illustrated in Figure 2, the tool consists of a sectional housing l4 and Hi. It is to be noted that housing member [4 is tubular and of considerably greater length than housing 16.

Housing I4 is hollow in construction and is open at each end. A suitable bushing l8 threadedly bored along the axial length thereof, is welded or otherwise suitably mounted on the outer extremity of housing member l4. Housing section [6 is open at one end thereof and is closed at the outer extremity by means of a suitable plug 22 welded therein. Housing member 16 is a sleeve and hollow in construction in the manner of housing l4. A screw shaft-24 is rotatably seated within bushing l8 and extends into'housing 14 for a short distance. A suitable actuating crank handle 26 is secured to screw 24 for actuation thereof. Secured to the inner end of actuating screw 24 is an elongated steel shaft 28, shaft 28 being of a diameter closely fitting the inner periphery of housings l4 and I6 and extends through both housings l4 and [6 as is clearly illustrated. It will thus be seen that the shaft 23 and the housing [6 considered together constitute a member-slidingly received within and extensible from the tubular housing l4.

Mounted on housing members [4 and 16 are jclamps 3ll.- Two clamps are used, and as they are identical in construction, a descriptionof one will be applicable for "the other. As is best illustrated in Figures 2 through 4, clamp 30 isof two separate members 32 and 34 arcuately grooved on the inner surfaces thereof and in complementary relation at 36 for retention in non-slipping relation on the respective housing pipes. Clamp members or jaws 32 and 34 are retained in locked position by threaded bolts 38 extending through suitable bores therein. Bolts 38 include headed stops 40 on one end thereof and mount on the opposite extending end a clamping plate or bar 42. Door' I2 is adapted to be placed between plate 42 and the adjacent surface of jaw member 32 and is gripped by suitable teeth 44 mounted in opposed relation on the facing surfaces of plate 42 and jaw 32, teeth 44 being retained in position by bolts 46.

In use, the ends of a suitable object such as an automobile door are inserted between plate 42 and jaw 32, the teeth 44 or the ends thereof gripping the outer extre'mities of door I2. Bolts 38- are then rotated to insure non-slip engagement with the door while the stretching operation takes place. When crank 26 is rotated, screw 24 travels in bushing is until steel shaft 28, extending therefrom, abuts plug 22 or housing [6. Continued r tation of. crank 26 in'the same direction, produces further separation of the housing members with the attendant stretching longitudinally of door member I2. Plug 22 absorbs the pressure on shaft 28 by screw 24 and the bent portions of the door are then readily hammered straight.

When door 12 is to be released, rotation of crank 28 is reversed, and the door is released from engagement by plate 52 and member 32. One of the clamps 30, preferably the one on housing I4, is slidably adjusted to accommodate different sizes of objects to be straightened.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes in size, shape and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A tool comprising an elongated tubular member and an elongated member slidably received within and extending axially from the tubular member, a pair of vises, means for adjustably positioning and securing one of said vises on the tubular member, means for adjustably positioning and mounting the other vise on the second mentioned member, and means for urging relative axial movement of said members.

2. A tool comprising an elongated tubular member and an elongated member slidably received within and extending axially from the tubular member, a pair of vises, means for adiustably positioning and securing one of said vises on the tubular member, means for adiustablv positioning and mounting the other vise on the second mentioned member, and means for urging relative axial movement of said members, said vises including means responsive to actuation of said first means and the second means for clamping work;

3. A tool comprising an elongated tubular member and an elongated member slidably received within and extending axially from the tubular member, means'urging extension of the elongated member fromthe tubular member, a pair of vises one of wh ch is mounted on the tubular member and the other of which is mounted on the second mentioned member,. each of said vises comprising a pair of clamping plates and a gripping plate, one of said members being disposed between the clamping plates, securin means extendin through a l of said lates for urgingthem towards each other, whereby a work may be r nned etween one of the clamping lates an the rinnin p ate simultaneo s- IV w th t e c m ng ates be ng ur ed towards said one member by the securing means.

4. A st ht tool for bod and fender repair work comprising a ack including a pair of axi ly a e extensible hous ngsections, means for causing relative ax al movement o the sections. a combine aw and cl mp co truction adiustably pos tioned on each of said sections, said construction comprisi g a pair of spaced clamping memberathe clamping members receivin one of the sections therebetween and having their adjacent faces substantially complementary to the surface of the section engaged thereby, a gripping plate disposed on the side of one of the members, said members and the gripping plate having aligned apertures therethrough, and adjustable securing means extending through the apertures to urge the members towards each other to clampthe section therebetween and also to urge the gripping plate towards the members to grip an object between the gripping plate and said one of the clamping members.

5. For use with a straightening tool for body and fender repair work including an extensible jack having a pair of aligned sections; a combined jaw and clamp construction adapted to be adjustably positioned and clamped to 'the sections comprising a pair of spaced first and second clamping members for receiving a section therebetween, the adjacent surfaces of the clamping members having surfaces adapted to be substantially complementary to a jack section, a gripping plate disposed on the side of the first of said members opposite the second member, said clamping members and the gripping plate having aligned apertures therethrough, and adjustable securing means extending through all of the apertures for urging the clamping members towards each other to clamp a jack section therebetween and also for urging the gripping plate towards the first clamping member to grip an object placed between the plate and the first clamping member.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein the adjacent surfaces of the gripping plate and said first member are serrated for snug frictional engagement with an object gripped therebetween.

7. A tool consisting of a two part housing, a clamp adjustably mounted on each of the housing parts, work engaging means carried by said clamps, means extending through the two part housing for movement of the housing parts towards and away from each other, each of said clamps comprise grooved jaws, securing means extending through said jaws, said work engaging means including a gripping plate engaged by said securing means, so that when the securing means are tightened, the clamps are immovabl'y retained on the housing and one of said clamp jaws and said plate tightly retains a work therebetween.

8. The combination of claim 1, wherein said second mentioned means includes a sleeve rotatably mounted on the second mentioned member, and means for limiting axial movement of the sleeve on the second mentioned member.

WILLIAM J DESJARLAIS. HERMAN E. LA FLEUR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 286,812 Harris Oct. 16, 1883 312,608 Britton' Feb. 24, 1885 490,150 Low Jan. 17, 1893 600,869 Hankin Mar. 22, 1898 637,827 Quesenberry Nov. 28, 1899 639,922 Jackson Dec. 26, 1399 731,665 Clayton June 23, 1903 884,772 Sorensen Apr. 14, 1908 1,120,798 Duecker Dec. 15, 1914 1,194,058 Neumayer Aug. 8, 1916 1,221,774 Taylor Apr. 3, 1917 1,225,301 Wolfe May 3, 1917 1,343,336 Ragona June 15, 1920 2,043,140 Wilmesherr June 2, 1936 2,299,218 F'ener Oct. 20, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 421,105 France '-Feb. 15, 1911 

